History Channel Strikes Gold with "Madhouse"

Love it or hate it, the History Channel has hit pure television gold with their newest show "Madhouse," which follows a set of drivers racing in one of the roughest and toughest divisions at one of the roughest and toughest NASCAR Whelen All-American Series tracks in the country.

The Modified division at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C. is known throughout the region as not only one of the toughest divisions to win in due to the level of competition but also one of the toughest divisions to survive in at times.

With drivers like Junior Miller, Tim Brown, Burt and Jason Myers and Chris Fleming as well as a host of others not prominently featured on the show its easy to see why the division has both reputations.

The fans at the Stadium go absolutely nuts for the Modified division. Some fans have the kind of fanatical devotion generally reserved for NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers.

But no matter what week it is the Stadium is always jam packed full of fans ready to see what is going to happen next. Need more visual proof as to why? Just take a short trip on over to Youtube and you'll find out quick. Bowman Gray is truly a track where anything can happen on any night.

But the action on the track and in the pits isn't the only reason why this show is as good as it is and will have the success that it will.

The show does an excellent job of showing the viewers who these drivers are off the track as well as showing the amount of work that the drivers and their teams go through every week in order to go racing on Saturday night.

I know what people are going to say and already have said. The show sets NASCAR back, they look like a bunch of dumb rednecks cursing and fighting all the time, and so on and so forth. Well guess what people, that is the way it is on the short track level!

The pretty boys on Sunday may not get as mad at each other, but the Saturday night warriors at tracks like Bowman Gray not only drive the cars but also pour their blood, sweat, tears and hard earned money into the cars each and every week and tend to have their emotions run a bit higher. But that's what has made the Stadium so popular, its raw, real and uncensored drama each and every week.

Plus I can tell you from personal experience 90 per cent of short track racers out there if they're at the track, four letter words are going to be heard around the pit area. Drivers all think they're the best in their division and got the best equipment in their division.

And if a driver has some reason not to like another, its going to be on their mind 24/7. To these drivers, racing isn't just a hobby it is a way of life and that is why the fans show every week.

In a time where so many "reality" shows are filled with fake drama and producer created events to create story lines, "Madhouse" features drama that is created each and every week by the stars of the show, the drivers on the track, and just ask anyone who has ever been to the Stadium not one bit of that is fake and that is why the History Channel has struck gold with this series.

Here's a Youtube video from a local news station about the final night of the 2008 season which is what the show addresses in the premiere episode.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7LxpBYp_hk&feature=related

If you have a favorite quote or moment from the series so far feel free to share them in the comment section below and if you feel like sharing which of the five drivers is your favorite or least favorite tell us and let us know why!